Raushan Iskenderli, 32, hometown — Karaganda, a children's photographer, co-founder of the "Bal bala baku" studio
I moved to Baku immediately after graduating from the university in Moscow in 2011. My husband is Azerbaijani and I am already the mother of four girls.
I took an interest in photography after the birth of the eldest daughter. The hobby quickly developed into a favorite business, which gradually began to bring an income. I am working with a wonderful Azerbaijani photographer — Victoria Imanova. Now we have a new studio, where we moved recently. There is a special room, equipped for shooting newborn children, which is our specialization.
The work brings me great pleasure. I can realize my creativity and get a worthy reward for it.
The first thing I encountered in Azerbaijan is the language barrier. I quickly overcame it though, because Azerbaijani and Kazakh are similar. The second difficulty — if it can be called so — was my name. Raushan in Azerbaijani is pronounced as Rovshan, and here it is a male name. In the correspondence, they often refer to me as "muellim", which is a way to respectfully address a man. I have to always explain that I am Kazakh and this is a female name in our language. We have to order requisites and equipment for the studio from Russia and the USA since we found no specialized photographic equipment stores there.
I think that the Azerbaijani market has it own specificities. There is less competition, which is an advantage for me. They simplified the taxation system lately, and it became similar to Kazakhstan. It is difficult, however, to get loans from banks. There is no significant support for small and medium-sized businesses. To start business in Azerbaijan you need to take into account their mentality and learn the language.
Gulnara Kasymova, 31, hometown — Karaganda, owner of the delivery Yakudza
I have been living in Baku for four years. My daughter and I moved here because she had bronchial asthma. We needed to move closer to the sea. My father is Azerbaijani, and we have an apartment in Baku. So we moved and it helped her.
Initially I could not find any job because I had only a three-month residence permit. This document is not enough to work officially. I could not stay at home all the time, so I decided to open a small business. The first thing that came to my mind was to organize a sushi delivery. Then in Kazakhstan sushi was very popular, while in Baku there were very few such services.
I decided to take a chance and went to the store, bought food and started a page in Instagram. I did everything by myself and learned to twist the rolls through video tutorials on YouTube. I could not believe when the first order came. I should not have worried though because later the client called me and said that he had never tasted such delicious sushi. Soon I married an Azerbaijani citizen and was given an annual residence permit. I was able to register my business.
Looking back, I remember that at that time I could receive only one or two orders a day, now it could reach 38. I do not do this by myself now, I have a large team of cooks, couriers and other employees. My clients are mostly citizens of Kazakhstan, with whom we are now friends and keep in touch.
Thanks to the business, I am learning to be sociable. I have never worked in a team before because all people have different characters and moods and it was difficult. I am also learning how to be a true leader.
We have already grown out of the usual delivery, so in 15-20 days we are opening a small cafe
We have already grown out of the usual delivery, so in 15-20 days we are opening a small cafe. This is a new experience for me: choosing a room, hiring employees and engaging in personal communication with customers. We also plan to open new branches in other cities of Azerbaijan. I am glad that I disillusioned those who did not believe in me and thought that it is hard to start a business here. Everything is possible if you believe in yourself and do everything according to the law.
Zhanat Zhunusov, 37, hometown — Karaganda, security of access and restriction system
My first business trip to Azerbaijan took place in 2014. Our company is the official distributor of the "VIZIT" door phones in Kazakhstan and the Siberian part of Russia. That year in November our Kazakhstan representative office celebrated 10 years, while the Russian company turns 10 on September 30 this year. We have been selling door phones, installing and providing service in Baku for the last four years.
Baku has fewer problems with theft, the weather does not get as cold as in Astana and young people do not sit back and do not litter. In Azerbaijan, 60% of the market is still free. This year renovation began in the city, they are demolishing old five-story buildings and are immediately erecting new ones. Baku is a big city, officially there are two million people living there, but in reality, the population is larger. So there is no end to the work. There are also certain difficulties and peculiarities. Work in Azerbaijan differs because the expected timeframe should be multiplied by two here, and the budget by three. Here people often say "Yes" and spend on the realization of the order up to several months.
Work in Azerbaijan differs because the expected timeframe should be multiplied by two here, and the budget by three
There were no problems with the registration of documents for the company. They have something like the Public Service Centers only it is called the ASAN service under the President of the Republic of Azerbaijan. The service is of very high quality and it works reliably from 10 am to 8 pm. Volunteers welcome you at the entrance and all programs work well. If they see that you are a foreigner, they lead you to a separate window so that no difficulties arise.
